Splitting-machine.



J. B. HADAWAY.

SPLITTING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED JANA, 1912.

Patented Apr. 9, 1912.

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COLUMBIA ILANOGRAPH (20., WAS c J. B. HADAWAY.

SPLITTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 4, 1912.

1,022,414, Patented Apr. 9, 1912.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN B. HADAWAY, OF SWAMPSCOTT, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

SPLITTING-MACHINE.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN B. HADAWAY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Swampsco-tt, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Splitting-Machines, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures- This invention relates to splitting and skiving machines and is herein illustrated as embodied in a machine for splitting leather.

Machines equipped with reciprocating knives have been found to possess certain advantages in splitting stock, more particularly in splitting soft and flimsy stock, these advantages arising principally from the fact that a knife of this type produces a draw cut. Owing, however, to the fact that during the periodic dwells of such a knife, while its direction of movement is being reversed, there is no corresponding pause or change in the movement of the stock, the knife acts during these dwells as a fixed knife. The result, particularly where soft and flimsy stock is being operated upon, is that a slight wave or wrinkle is produced in the stock between the bite of the feed rolls and the edge of the temporarily motionless knife; and the top of this wave or wrinkle is removed by the knife upon its next stroke. There is thus produced a series of narrow depressions on the flesh side of the finished piece, and, if this piece is sufficiently thin, the effect of these depressions is visible on Accordingly, in order to produce a machine which shall be capable of splitting soft stock in a satisfactory manner as well as to improve generally the operation of machines of the type referred to above, one feature of this invention consists in the provision with a reciprocating knife of means for feeding a piece of stock thereto, said feeding means having provision for causing a change'in the direction of the feeding movement during the time that the direction of movement of the said knife is being reversed. In the illustrative machine these changes in the direction of the feed are prolonged to cover the time consumed by the last portions of the movements of the knife toward its extreme positions and the Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 4, 1912.

Patented Apr. 9, 1912.

Serial No. 669,422.

first portions of its movements away from said positions as well as the extremely short times during which the knife is motionless, the purpose of this construction being to insure the production of a uniformly smooth surface on the leather. Any suitable means for accomplishing this result may be employed, and in the illustrative embodiment of the invention the rolls which feed the leather to the knife are moved in unison along the edge of the knife during the periodic cessation of movement of the knife so that, although the stock is fed continuously, a draw out is being produced at all times.

It may be desirable under certain circumstances to vary the timed relation between the reciprocation of the knife and the change in the direction of the feeding movement of the stock. For example, it may be that the changes in direction of the feeding movement do not take place at the proper time with respect to the reversal of movement of the knife so that it becomes necessary to adjust either the mechanism which changes the direction of feed or the mecl1- anism which actuates the knife.

Accordingly, another feature of this invention consists in the provision with a reciprocating knife and means for feeding stock thereto, said means having provision for causing changes in the direction of the feeding movement to take place in timed relation with the reciprocation of the knife, of means for varying said timed relation. In the illustrative machine the knife is reciprocated from a cam on the driving shaft, and this cam may be adjusted angular-1y about the axis of said shaft, if desired.

These and other features of the invention including certain details of construction and combinations of parts will be described in connection with the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a rear elevation of a machine in which the present invention is embodied; and Fig. 2 is a plan View of the machine.

Mounted in suitable bearings carried by the frame 1 of the machine is a driving shaft 3 having near its ends gears, one of which is shown at 5. The gear (not shown) at the opposite end of the shaft meshes with an idle gear 7 carried by a stud shaft on frame of the machine, and said rolls may be adjusted toward and from each other by turning the hand holds 22 and 24. The upper roll is held from springing by two supporting rolls located above it and the lower roll is yieldable as a whole and comprises a plurality of independent yieldable sections. The details of these features, however, form no part of the present invention, and no further description of them will be given. The knife 23 is of the reciprocating type being adjustably fastened to a plate 25 by means of screw bolts 27 which pass through slots in the knife and are threaded into the plate, and means for adjusting said knife toward and from the feed roll is provided in the form of adjusting screws 29 which are threaded through ears. 31 on the plate and contact at their ends with the rear portion of the knife. This plate is slidably mounted in guideways 33 carried on a bracket 35 and is r-eciprocated through a link 37 which is pivoted at one end to said plate and at the other end to a lever 39, said lever in turn being pivoted at 41 to the frame of the machine and carrying at its farther end a stud 43 on which is mounted a roller (not shown). A cam member 45 is provided with a track or way 47 to receive the roller,

.. said track being formed to cause oscillation of the lever 39 when the driving shaft 3 is rotated. Cam 45 is provided with a hub 46 through which passes a set screw 48 whereby the angular position of the cam with respect to the driving shaft may be adjusted.

In machines as hitherto constructed wherein the stock is continuously advanced in a direction at right angles to the edge of a reciprocating knife, a difiiculty arises owing to the fact that at two points in its path the knife is momentarily stationary and that in those stationary positions a draw cut is not produced. In order therefore to produce a draw cut at all times without interrupting the feed, the feed rolls are arranged to be moved in unison along the edge of the knife during the momentary pauses of said knife. Any suitable means for accomplishing this result may be employed, and in the illustrative machine there is fast to the shaft 11 of the upper feed roll a cam member 49 provided with a track 51 into which extends a roller 53 rotatably mounted upon a bracket 55. The sh'afts 11 and 17 of the feed rolls are permitted a certain amount of longitudinal movement as will be apparent from an inspection of Fig. 1 and are held to move longitudinally in unison by cooperating collars 57 and 59 the latter collar being formed with a groove to tudinal movement of the feed rolls begins prior to the cessation of movement of the knife and continues until the direction of movement of the knife has been reversed T and the knife has started upon its return movement.

The operation of the machine is as follows :-The stock is fed to the rolls of the machine in the ordinary manner, the knife being r-eciprocated by the mechanism which ihas been described. IVhen the knife approaches the end of its path the cam 49 co operates with the roller 53 to draw the feed ,rolls and with them the piece of stock along the edge of the knife so that a draw cut is being produced while the knife is stationary or moving slowly. There is thus no tendency for the stock to wrinkle between the .feed rolls and the edge of the knife and no ridges or grooves are produced on the stock.

Although the invention has been set forth in connection with'a particular machine it should be understood that the invention is not limited in the scope of its application to the particular machine shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a knife, means for reciprocating said knife, means for feeding to said knife a piece of stock in a direction to have a draw out produced thereon and means for changing the direction of the feeding movement during the time that the direction of movement of the knife is being reversed.

. 2. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a knife, means for re ciprocating said knife, means for feeding to said knife a piece of stock in a directionto have a draw cut produced thereon, and means for changing the direction of feed first to one side and then to the other during the times that the direction of movement of the knife is being reversed.

3. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a knife, means for moving said knife intermittently, means for feeding a piece of stock continuously to said knife, and means for periodically changing the direction of the feed, said changes in direction being timed to take place during the pauses in the movement of the knife.

4. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a knife, means for moving said knife intermittently, means for feeding a piece of stock continuously to said --receive the margin of the collar 57. The cams 45 and 49 are so timed that the long1--' knife, and means for periodically changing the direction of said feed, said changes being effective while the knife is near the ends of its path.

5. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a knife, means for re ciprocating said knife, means for feeding stock thereto, and means for changing the direction of the feed when the knife approaches the end of its path.

6. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a knife, means for reciprocating said knife, means for causing stock to be fed thereto continuously, and means for changing the direction of the feed during the periodic cessation of movement of the knife.

7. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a knife, means for reciprocating said knife, a plurality of rolls for feeding stock thereto, and means acting intermittently to give the rolls a longitudinal movement.

8. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a knife, means for re ing stock thereto, means for drawing said.

knife back and forth along the edge of said stock, and means for intermittently drawing said stock back and forth along the edge of said knife.

11. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a knife, means for reciprocating said knife in a direction to produce a draw cut, means for feeding stock to said .knife, said means having provision for causing changes in the direction of the feeding movement to take place in timed relation with the reciprocation of said knife and means for varying said timed relation.

12. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a reciprocating knife, a plurality of rolls for advancing a piece of stock to said knife, and means for moving said rolls longitudinally at predetermined intervals.

13. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a reciprocating knife, a plurality of rolls for advancing a piece of stock to said knife, means for holding said rolls from longitudinal movement with respect to each other, and means for moving one of said rolls longitudinally.

14. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a reciprocating knife, two rolls for advancing a piece of stock to said knife, shafts upon which said rolls are mounted, a grooved collar fast to one shaft, a collar fast to the other shaft and extending into said groove, means for rotating said shafts and means for moving one of said shafts longitudinally during the time that the knife is at the end of its path.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN B. HADAVAY.

lVitnesses LAURA M. Goonnmen, Cnns'rnn E. Romans.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

